Hiking the Nyika Plateau

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We heard about trekking Nyika Plateau while in the Okavango Delta. The same person that gave us the recommendation to climb Mount Mulanje said we should also experience Nyika. The tip also came with the information that it’s hard to coordinate, but worth it if you can.

So weeks before arriving to Livingstonia, we asked people and emailed accommodations trying to work out a plan.  The hike goes one direction so finding economical transportation to or from was next to impossible.  Once we arrived at Mushroom Farm and spoke with a guide, we decided to hike up instead of the normal down and cross our fingers for park transport back.  

 

Day 1

We arranged all the details with Henry, our guide, the previous day.  He understood our request to find transport to get to back to Livingstonia or we’d add an extra day and walk back.  We’d rented a tent from Mushroom Farm and hoped we had everything else we’d need.  The plan was to meet him on the way to town so we walked the 45 minutes and met him at a shop.

We followed the road up to town and stopped at the local market to get a few last things.  Thankfully we’d planned ahead and got food in Mzuzu as the shops were lacking in the small town.  Once we were all loaded with everything we’d need for 3-4 days, we continued to walk through town.  We passed the Stonehoue museum and then started down the path towards the plateau.  

 

It led down through several small villages and we stopped in one for a break.  Henry wanted a cigarette and we found a spot in the shade to rest.  As we left the village we continued through fields of crops.  There was maize, green beans, different types of dried beans and tobacco.  The path worked us up and down and after passing a local maize mill we stopped for lunch next to a river.

We continued on and enjoyed the views of the nearby farms.  Once we reached the road again, we were to follow it up and around to our campsite for the night.  A truck passed us and I made a comment about catching a ride.  Henry took it seriously and flagged them down.  We jumped in the bed of the truck and took advantage of the free ride for a few kilometers.  When they reached their destination, we jumped out and continued on.  We could see the green hills in the distance and he pointed to where we were headed.

 

As we were getting closer to our campsite, Henry stopped at someone’s property and asked for a couple eggs.  He didn’t want to buy them in the morning as he was afraid they’d break along the way.  We reached a coffee plantation beside a river and that would be our home for the night.  A few of the members of the co-op joined us while Henry made a fire and cooked his meal.  Once he was done, we made our and crawled into our tent.  We’d walked about 14 kms (8.7 miles) and were glad our packs would be getting lighter as we ate their contents.

 

 

 

Day 2

We woke up to a cloudy sky, but as the skies had cleared after sunset the night before we had hope.  We ate breakfast and repacked our belongings and headed towards Nyika National Park.  It drizzled on and off, but nothing to be too concerned about.  As we passed the last shop, Henry stopped to buy matches.  We waited along the path, but the rain picked up.  Henry waved us over and we sat under an awning until it passed.  A rainbow appeared as the sun came out and we started walking again.  

 

We crossed the river and worked our way up the side of a hill.  Where the last farm ended, the park began.  The path was through a rainforest and in accordance with its name, it continued to drizzle.  Tico had his bag covered by his rain cover and I used his poncho to protect mine a bit.  We stopped along the way under trees for a break and then slowly made our way to the top.  Henry didn’t think the weather would clear, but we had hopes that it would.

 

Once we reached the opening, the rain stopped.  We could see some of the rolling hills, but the sky was still covered in clouds.  After walking a bit more, the sun decided to make an appearance.  We were thrilled to have the heat as well as the opportunity to dry out.  The green and brown hills could be seen for kilometers.  Where there was a valley in the hills a clump of trees could be found, but otherwise, it was grass as far as we could see.  

 

 

Not long after, we reached the campsite.  It was in one of the valleys with trees and a river nearby.  There were several porters already there setting up camp for someone who was walking from the other direction.  We pulled out our sleeping bags and laid them out to dry in the sun.  It was getting clearer as the day went on so we walked back up from where we’d come to get a better view of the hills.  

As the sun was starting to set, it was getting colder.  A fire was already going and we used its heat to dry our socks and shoes.  Tico used a stick to hang his socks over the fire, but when he wasn’t paying attention they fell in and he ended up with holes in both toes.  That night, we hung out as close to the fire as we possibly could to try to stay warm.  We prepared dinner and while Henry was talking with the other people at the camp, we found out we probably had a free ride back to Livingstonia.  Nothing could be confirmed until we reached Chelinda, but we had high hopes. 

 

 

 

The stars lit up the sky and we crawled in.  We had put the poncho over the tent as we didn’t have its rain cover.  We’d opted out of a tent with a cover as they said it never rained this time of year, but we were now regretting that.  Our sleeping bags were in the middle of the tent in hopes that if water did come in we’d stay somewhat dry.  

Day 3

We could hear voices outside and the fire already crackling.  It was cold and wet outside and we were warm in our sleeping bags, but we had to start the day.  The drizzling rain returned, but it didn’t last long.  We started walking up and down through the hills.  The green had disappeared and it was brown rolling hills as far as we could see.  When we went down, the ground would be wet and at one point we had to walk around a swamp.  As we crossed rivers, we filled up our water bottles and kept moving.  We spotted some waterbuck and warthogs in the distance.  

 

The path could be seen into the distance.  Henry would point at where we would end up and then we reached a dirt road.  We stopped for lunch and it was an opportune time to pull out our sleeping bags and tent and try to dry them a bit more.  The road was leading us to the Chelinda campsite and as we got closer we started seeing more animals.  Henry said they stayed close to the camp and lodge as there were less poachers.  There were sable, zebras and antelopes along the sides of the hills.

 

 

 

 

We reached a fork in the road and turned left into the forest.  The pine trees were tall and were there to serve one purpose, firewood.  They replanted and harvested for the lodge and campsite and as the wind blew, they creaked.  We reached an opening in the forest and found the campsite reception.  The necessary paperwork was filled out and then we were sent to pay for the park fees.

 

We followed the road around the lake to the staff village.  There were bushbuck eating the grass and not caring that there were people all around.  I went into the office to pay the fees while Tico wandered around.  The ranger had difficulty calculating the fee and it took longer than expected.  But that gave Tico more time to talk and meet people.  

 

 

Once we were done, Henry led us to our campsite and we passed a herd of eland not far from the path.  We were the only ones there, but the attendant had firewood waiting for us.  We set up camp and Henry left as he’d stay in the hostel down the road.  There was hot water so we both took advantage of a shower and then made dinner.  We enjoyed the night alone under the stars before climbing into our sleeping bags that we’d dried and warmed by the fire.

 

 

Day 4 

We woke up to clear skies and our tent covered in dew drops.  Our sleeping bags were wet yet again, but it didn’t matter as it was going to be a nice day.  The previous days there was already a fire going as Henry woke up before us.  Today we had to unbundle ourselves and make our way into the cold.  Tico went in search of hot ashes from the fire that was used as the water heater while I grabbed dry wood from the kitchen.

The plan was to meet Henry at 9:30 am so we took our time drying things by the fire and watching the animals eat in the field in front of us.  As we walked to our meeting point, we found Henry walking towards us.  The attendant and others had asked us if we were getting a ride, but we were told it was a secret so we continued to say we were walking back.  Henry’s son, who worked at the lodge, showed up at the meeting point and confirmed that we needed to get moving as the car was ready to leave.

 

We walked fast back through the forest.  The car would pick us up at the fork in the road from the day before so that it was out of sight of the lodge and campsite.  We took group pictures while we waited, but it didn’t take long.  The safari car pulled up and we jumped in.  We felt like kings riding in the car and seeing the view from another angle.  I followed along with my GPS and suddenly we turned off the road.  

 

We tried to get up a hill, but the car didn’t make it.  The camp attendant had come with us and he got out to put the car in 4×4.  We reached the top only to have the car stop.  They said this was our stop and we all got out.  While it had gotten us closer to our final destination, we were still far away.  There was fog covering the hills and we worked our way down the hill.  We passed the crew we’d seen a couple nights before on their way up to the car.

 

There was no path, but Henry led us into one of the forests in the valleys.  It was like entering into another world as there was moisture and ferns all around.  We reached the bottom and then had to climb up a steep incline to get out.  As we were making our way to the top, Henry found a wire trap that was set by a poacher.  He confiscated it and would turn it into the park office.

 

 

We reached the path we had taken days before and Henry estimated we would be back by 7-8 pm.  As we didn’t want to miss dinner, we told him that 7 pm was our goal.  We were moving fast and as it was downhill to get out of the park it wasn’t too hard.  Once we got out of the park, the ups and downs started again.  We walked through the farms, which looked like patchwork quilts on the hillsides, and then back to the store where we’d hid from the rain.

 

We didn’t have any more food as we had assumed our ride was going to get us back earlier.  This was a prime opportunity to get some snacks and Henry had a women bring him a cup of what we thought was porridge.  We continued on and past our campsite from the first night.  Our legs were moving as fast as they could and then Henry stopped where the truck had dropped us days before.  He went to the local bar and dumped out his water bottle to have it filled with beer.  That’s when we realized that his porridge had also been beer.

 

We encouraged him to get moving and as we walked he spoke more than he had the previous days.  His speech wasn’t as coherent and we decided to make sure we kept up the pace.  As it was getting closer to the deadline to order food, we called Mushroom Farm and made sure to preorder dinner.  Henry wanted to take breaks and even wanted to share his beer with people we met along the way, but we told him that we needed to move.

 

We reached the road that would take us to Livingstonia and we could see the town’s antennas in the distance.  The road led us around so that we wouldn’t have to go up into town only to go down.  The sun set and we were still walking.  We reached the shop where we’d met Henry the first day and his family was along the road waiting for him.  They took his bag and we kept walking.  Tico had his headlamp, which saved the day as the road wasn’t level.  

We reached Mushroom Farm minutes before 7 pm and were thrilled.  After walking over 22 kms (13.7 miles) with more ups and downs then we remembered doing before, we sat down and enjoyed a meal.  We chatted with those near us, but were too tired to really carry on much of a conversation.  In the background, we heard a familiar voice.  Gülçin was at another table so once we finished we spoke with her and found out she was leaving the next day as well.  

It had been a long day and we were excited to be back and get to sleep on a real mattress.  The views during the hike were amazing and different from things we’d seen on other hikes.  Getting to walk near the animals is always something we enjoy doing and despite the long last day, we were glad we made the effort to see the Nyika Plateau.

Helpful tips:

• Chelinda offers self-catered and catered hikes down through Nyika Plateau although the transportation to the lodge/camp is expensive.  We were quoted $200 USD for 240 kms (149 miles).
• Although not many people will tell you, there is park transport on certain days out of the national park and they will give you a ride for free.